CoasterBuzz Podcast #142 posted

I was just wondering what happened to Greg. I can't remember the last time he was on the Podcast.

^^I thought Greg was interesting, and the best part was he had been to and been on many of the parks and rides discussed!! I don't remember him being on since 07!

But needless to say a backlog of 3 shows now will definitely make the drive to Coastermania fly by!! I'm actually looking forward to the drive.

Great, I don't wanna be responsible for someone falling asleep at the wheel!

The length of the show is fine with me. Longer would be cool, but I understand there is only so much to talk about every week.

The length is fine with me also. There is another podcast that I won't mention by name. It seems to run on and on about nothing.

I realize you can't do it every week, but some of the most interesting podcasts you've done were the ones with the special guests. I can't remember if you've had Steve Gorman from Waldameer before. But, I'm sure he'd be happy to do a show. Brandon Stanley from Worlds of Fun is pretty outgoing as well.

In regards to Prowler, I haven't ridden it yet. But, from the pictures and videos I've seen, it is probably one of the most unique layouts they've done so far. It's not the typical twisty layout they've done before. Though, I'm not very familiar with Renegade, maybe it has some of this design in it as well. I'll be riding both of them in about 3-1/2 weeks.

One of the other factors I think Waldameer has in it's favor over Conneaut is it's location. Conneaut is more out of the way. And once you get there, how much else is there to do? Waldameer is right on Lake Erie, has Presque Isle state park, the casino and it's right in Erie, PA.

About Conneaut it used to be bigger than Waldameer in the late 80's. But when new management took over around 1990 they were wanting to change focus of the park to Concerts and a water park and was going to demolish the Blue Streak. They Put up a fence around the park and started Charging Addmission sometimes up to $30. They than sold Half of the rides in the park which lead to a decline in attendance and a closure in 1995. it reopened in 1996 and a few attractions were added. But attendance were still low and it was hard to attract guests. It was that way up till it closed in 2007. Just putting the story out there.

Also Liskos have set up connsesion stands and more rides will reopen soon. More opens every weekend.

Nice cast. It is at a good length. Rather enjoyable for just about any car ride. It one of my favorite casts. It covers amusement news in a much more enjoyable manner. It's also nice to get to hear the view of other coaster enthusiasts. I do like the idea of guest's on the show. This day and age it really isn't very hard to do. Personally interviews with some of the companies would be a nice addition to the cast. Only thing I think could really improve it ( not needed really) is add maybe a mail bag section or something similar. I think it would break up the monotony of cast just being news all the time and then going straight to a summary of things around the site.

The length of an hour +/- is fine with me. I think the balance of news, the "off topic" material and your personal stuff is fine also (I always enjoy a good laugh). An hour with stuffy personalities and no laughs would be a drag. A few interviews with park personnel or coaster designers/manufactures would be a nice touch from time to time (but not required).

Just listened to #142. Have listened to a few different ones before.

The length is fine, one hour is good.

I think someone forgot the hit the stop recording button. lol. After hearing the copyright ending and such, theres a pause and then about a minute of you three talking to each other about rock bands and random stuff. (unless it was intentional).

Very good discussion and analysis, enjoyed hearing about freestyle park, as well as prowler.

Keep it up!

BuckeyeCoasterFreak said:
After hearing the copyright ending and such, theres a pause and then about a minute of you three talking to each other about rock bands and random stuff.

I wonder if that's at the end of any of the other shows? :)

I'd like more guests too. My thing is I never know what to ask. What can you possibly say to these people that's not trite? I suppose that's what makes a good interviewer and what makes me not.

Jeff, you need to interview more industry types for the podcast. :)

The guys always throw in some podcast outtakes at the end of the show. They're usually pretty funny snippets.

I think 50 minutes is good as far as length. One hour is fine, but I generally don't listen in one sitting.

There's stuff after the music? How often does that happen, I wonder?

Yeah, I know, I should be booking guests. It's hard to put a ton of time into the show (which is why we're never prepared) knowing that it's only heard by around a thousand people. I know, perhaps if there were guests, there would be more people listening. :)

I can't believe that we're insomniac-friendly and funny on occasion. Who knew?

What's sad are the legitimate yearS that passed before I realized the outtake thing!! But I do think you need Rick back on the show...that guy was a finance genius, and fairly knowledgeable about parks and rides too!

And Jeff, how about some bad a$$ imaging from an audio professional? Is this getting old yet?

I've always thought that the CoasterBuzz Podcasts were a little too long. There tends to be a little too much personal stuff, which makes it sound like you guys are trying to hard to become celebs to the 1000 people who listen. I also get a little irked at the fact that I can't chime in and tell you that you are wrong when I disagree with you...lol

BUT, let me say that they are, for the most part, very entertaining and sometimes clever. I do enjoy them when I get the time to actuially listen to them. I wish the van at work had a way for me to connect my i-pod so I could listen to it while doing my route. The stupid antenna broke off and now I have to listen to the CoasterBuzz Podcast at home. :(

This one sounds like it will be a good one. I'll have to download it tomorrow when I have the time to listen...

I would have to agree with most people on here that an hour is a good length, give or take depending on topics. Also, I enjoy the break-up of amusement park news with other types of entertainment, such as your Wii rant a few months back, or even the movie rant this time around, though it did coincide with the Terminator ride.

As far as guests, I can take it or leave it. Unless you are able to get someone who is down to earth to talk to, such as Tony Clark or Jeffery Seibert, I think it could get boring and uncomfortable to listen to if guests were too uptight.

All-in-all, I enjoy the show. Keep it up.

Nate Hill said:
Only thing I think could really improve it ( not needed really) is add maybe a mail bag section or something similar. I think it would break up the monotony of cast just being news all the time and then going straight to a summary of things around the site.

Yeah, I wish there was an easy and non-ridiculous way to make it more give-and-take like that with people who listen and enjoy the show. It seems like such a passive thing to just listen...although I suppose threads like this are exactly the interaction part.

Still would be cool if someone could stumble upon a good idea to get listeners more involved.

(I have opinions and want results, I just don't want to do the legwork :) )

d_port_12E said:
And Jeff, how about some bad a$$ imaging from an audio professional? Is this getting old yet?

You do realize that I used to do that junk myself, right? Back when cutting tape meant actually cutting physical tape? I honestly don't want it to sound like radio. It's bad enough we use expensive microphones and drop in the compressor to enhance Gonch's golden tones. I like not sounding like radio.

Back in the 1970s thru the early 1990s, Conneaut Lake Park was a bustling place to take the family. I think because of disrepair of many of the buildings and rides, and the eventual failure of proper management and investment, led to the existing situation. Also, since CLP is a public entity owned by the residents of Conneaut Lake, it can even exist as a family picnic park with and the lake experience, even if the main amusements went away. On the flip side, Waldameer's lead appears to take over when CLP's problems began in the 1990s, and eventually grew into wonderful family amusement park it is today. Waldameer also offers deals through AAA and other regional tourism bureas, which CLP doesn't.
I will continue to visit both parks, but Waldameer is my favorite family-oriented amusement park since we first visited in 2005. I'm still surprised that Waldameer doesn't advertise much within their 100-mile radius of customers, especially since the demise of some parks in the past few years.